Abstract

The plant life cycle alternates between a diploid and a
haploid generation, the spore-producing sporophyte and
the gamete-producing gametophyte. Unlike in animals,
where meiotic products differentiate directly into gametes,
the haploid spores of plants divide mitotically to
form a multicellular haploid organism. The differentiation
of gametes occurs later in the development of the gametophyte.